Weight for attachment to a piece of footwear

ABSTRACT

A weight for attachment to a piece footwear comprises a first weighted member having a plurality of holes defined therethrough. The plurality of holes are arranged along a length of the weighted member.

FIELD

The specification relates to weights, and more particularly, weights for attachment to a piece of footwear, such as a shoe or a skate.

INTRODUCTION

The following is not an admission that anything discussed below is prior art or part of the common general knowledge of persons skilled in the art.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,000,337 discloses a removable shoe weight for use in combination with a laced shoe. The shoe weight comprises a flexible packet consisting of a uniform material and having a longitudinal centerline aligned with the longitudinal axis of the shoe.

SUMMARY

The following introduction is provided to introduce the reader to the more detailed discussion to follow. The introduction is not intended to limit or define the claims.

A weight for attachment to a piece of footwear is described herein. The weight may comprise first and second weighted members, which may be generally elongate, and may be attached to the sides of the piece of footwear along the lace-holes of the piece of footwear using the shoelace of the piece of footwear. By attaching the first and second weighted members to the sides of the piece of footwear, an equal distribution of weight may be provided to the piece of footwear, which may provide stability and balance to the wearer's body. In addition, a user may choose to have one side of the foot carry more weight than the other side. This may be useful for people having instep or arch problems with their feet. Further, by attaching the first and second weighted members along the lace-holes of the piece of footwear, discomfort to the top of the foot may be minimized. Further, by attaching the first and second weighted members using the shoelace of the piece of footwear, the first and second weighted members may be securely, snugly, and sleekly attached to the piece of footwear.

According to one broad aspect, a weight for attachment to a piece of footwear is provided. The weight comprises a first weighted member having a plurality of holes defined therethrough. The plurality of holes are arranged along a length of the weighted member.

According to another broad aspect, a weight for attachment to a piece of footwear is provided. The piece of footwear may have a first plurality of lace-holes on an outer side of the piece of footwear, and a second plurality of lace-holes on an inner side of the piece of footwear. At least one shoelace may be threadable through the lace holes. The weight comprises a first weighted strip removably securable to the outer side of the piece of footwear. The first weighted strip has a first plurality of holes defined therethrough. The first plurality of holes are arranged along a length of the first strip, and at least some of the first plurality of holes are arranged to align with the first plurality of lace-holes. The first weighted strip is removably securable to the piece of footwear by the shoelace. The weight further comprises a second weighted strip removably securable to the inner side of the piece of footwear. The second weighted strip has a second plurality of holes defined therethrough. The second plurality of holes are arranged along a length of the second strip, and at least some of the second plurality of holes are arranged to align with the second plurality of lace-holes. The second weighted strip is removably securable to the piece of footwear by the lace.

According to another broad aspect, a method for applying a weight to a piece of footwear is provided. The piece of footwear comprises a first plurality of lace-holes on an outer side of the piece of footwear, and a second plurality of lace-holes on an inner side of the piece of footwear. The method comprises applying a first weighted member to the outer side of the piece of footwear; applying a second weighted member to the inner side of the piece of footwear; and securing the first weighted member and the second weighted member to the outer side of the piece of footwear and the inner side of the piece of footwear, respectively.

DRAWINGS

Reference is made in the description to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of an embodiment of a weight in the process of being attached to an ice-skate;

FIG. 2 is a perspective illustration of the weight of FIG. 1 attached to the ice-skate of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective illustration of a weighted member of the weight of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the weighted member of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the weighted member of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective illustration of a weighted portion of the weighted member of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a cross section taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is an alternate embodiment of the cross-section shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is perspective illustration of an alternate embodiment of a weight attached to a cleated shoe; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective illustration of the weight of FIG. 9, attached to a running shoe.

DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments will be described below to provide an example of each claimed invention. No embodiment described below limits any claimed invention and any claimed invention may cover embodiments that are not described below. The claimed inventions are not limited to embodiments having all of the features of any one embodiment described below or to features common to multiple or all of the embodiments described below. It is possible that a feature described below is not an embodiment of any claimed invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a weight 100 is shown in combination with a piece of footwear 102. In the embodiment shown, the piece of footwear 102 is an ice-skate. In alternate embodiments, the piece of footwear may be any other type of laced footwear, including but not limited to a shoe, a boot, an inline skate, a roller skate, a ski boot, or a snowboard boot. If the footwear is a shoe, it may be, for example an athletic shoe, an orthopedic shoe, or any other type of laced shoe. Athletic shoes may include cleats (as shown in FIG. 7), such as a soccer cleat, a football cleat, a baseball cleat, or a rugby cleat; spiked shoes such as golf shoes; running shoes (as shown in FIG. 8); walking shoes; climbing shoes; court shoes such as squash shoes; or high tops such as basketball shoes. If the footwear is a boot, it may be a combat boot, a construction boot, a snow boot, or any other type of laced boot.

As shown in FIG. 1, the piece of footwear 102 includes a first plurality of lace-holes 104 a on an outer side 106 a thereof, and a second plurality of lace-holes 104 b on an inner side 106 b thereof. A longitudinal axis 107 extends between a toe end 105 of the piece of footwear 102 and a heel end 109 of the piece of footwear 102, and divides the piece of footwear into the outer side 106 a and the inner side 106 b. A shoelace 108 is threadable through the first plurality of lace-holes 104 a and the second plurality of lace holes 104 b, to secure the piece of footwear to a user's foot, as is known in the art.

In the embodiment shown, the weight 100 comprises a first weighted member 110 a, and a second weighted member 110 b. The weighted members 110 a, 110 b are removably securable to the outer 106 a and inner 106 b sides of footwear, respectively. By securing the weighted member 110 a, 110 b to the outer 106 a and inner 106 b sides of the footwear, a substantially equal distribution of weight is provided to the foot, which provides stability and balance to the body. Preferably, as shown, the weighted members 110 a, 110 b are removably securable to the outer 106 a and inner 106 b sides of footwear using the shoelace 108, as will be described in further detail hereinbelow. By securing the weighted members 110 a, 110 b using the shoelace 108, the weighted members are securely, snugly, and sleekly secured to the piece of footwear. Further, by securing the weighted members 110 a and 110 b using the shoelace 108, the weighted members 110 a and 110 b are positioned substantially equidistantly from the longitudinal axis of the piece of footwear. The may further provide a substantially equal distribution of weight to the foot.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 to 5, a weighted member is shown. As described hereinabove, the weight shown comprises a first weighted member 110 a, and a second weighted member 110 b. For simplicity, a description will presently be made of the first weighted member 110 a, and reference numerals with the suffix ‘a’ will be used. It will be appreciated that the second weighted member 110 b may be substantially identical to the first weighted member 110 a, and like reference numerals ending with the suffix ‘b’ may be used to indicate like features on the second weighted member 110 b.

In the embodiment shown, the first weighted member 110 a is in the shape of a strip, and is generally elongate and has a first end 112 a, a second end 114 a, and a length L1 extending therebetween. The first weighted member 110 a further has a first face 116 a extending along the length thereof, and a second face 118 a extending along the length thereof and opposed to the first face 116 a. In use, the weighted member 110 a is applied to the piece of footwear by positioning the second face 118 a in facing relation to the outer side 106 a of the piece of footwear 102.

The weighted strip 110 a has a plurality of holes 120 a defined therethrough, which are arranged along the length L1 of the weighted member 110 a. The holes extend through the weighted member 110 a from the first face 116 a to the second face 118 a. The holes are 120 a generally arranged to align with the first plurality of lace holes 104 a of the piece of footwear when the weighted member 110 a is placed on the piece of footwear 102, so that the shoelace 108 may be threaded therethrough. In the embodiment shown, the holes 120 a are generally arranged in a row. That is, they are aligned along a common axis 121 a. In alternate embodiments, the holes may be arranged in another configuration. For example, the holes 116 a may be arranged in two parallel rows. In the embodiment shown, an eyelet 117 a is secured to each hole.

Preferably, the number of holes 120 a in the weighted member 110 a corresponds to the number of lace-holes 104 a in the piece of footwear 102. For example, the ice-skate shown in FIG. 1 has 11 lace-holes, and the weighted member 110 a has 11 lace holes. Accordingly, each hole 120 a is alignable with one of the lace holes 104 a. In alternate embodiments, however, the number of holes 120 a in the weighted member 110 a may not correspond to the number of lace-holes 104 a in the piece of footwear 102. For example, the weighted member 110 a may comprise only 5 holes, which may be staggered along the length thereof, such that every other lace hole 104 a is aligned with a hole 120 a. Alternately, the weighted member 110 a may comprise a number of holes 120 a that is less than the number of lace holes 104 a on the piece of footwear 102, and the length L1 of the weighted member 110 a may be sized to span only a portion of the row of lace holes 104 a on the footwear. For example, the weighted member 110 a may comprise only 5 holes 120 a, which may alignable with the first 5 lace-holes 104 a towards the toe end 105 of the ice-skate 102, and the length L1 of the weighted member 110 a may be selected to span between the first five lace-holes 104 a. In further alternate embodiments, only some of the holes 120 a may align with a lace hole 104 a. For example, the weighted member 110 a may comprise 12 holes, only 11 of which align with the lace holes 104 a. Preferably, the weighted member 110 a comprises at least three holes 120 a, to provide three points of connection between the weighted member 110 a and the piece of footwear 102.

The size of the holes 120 a may vary depending on the particular embodiment. For example, in embodiments in which the weighted members 110 a, 110 b are sold for use with a children's shoe, the holes 120 a, 120 b may have a relatively small diameter, to match the size of the lace-holes. In embodiments in which the weighted members 110 a, 110 b are sold for use with an adult skate, the holes 120 a, 120 b may have a relatively large diameter.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 to 8, in the embodiment shown, in order to provide the weighted member 110 a with a sufficient amount of weight, the weighted member comprises a weighted portion 122 a, and a cover 124 a. The weighted portion 122 a may comprise lead, for example, and may be in the form of a lead strip, having a first end 126 a, an opposed second end 128 a, a length L2 defined between the first end 126 a and the second end 128 a, a first face 130 a, and an opposed second face 132 a.

In the embodiment shown, the cover 124 a comprises a first covering strip 134 a, and a second covering strip 136 a. The first 134 a and second 136 a covering strips may, for example, be made from leather, or a synthetic material such as nylon. The first covering strip 134 a may be positioned adjacent the first face 130 a of the weighted portion 122 a, and the second covering strip 136 a may be positioned adjacent the second face 132 a of the weighted portion 122 a. The weighted portion 122 a and the first 134 a and second 136 a covering strips may be secured together by adhering the first 134 a and second 136 a covering strips to the weighted portion 122 a. Alternately or in addition, as shown, the edges of the first 134 a and second 136 a covering strips may be secured together around the weighted portion 122 a, for example by stitching.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the weighted member 110 a may be provided with varying amounts of weight. For example, some weighted members 110 a may be sold as a 1 lb weight, and others may be sold as a 1.5 lb weight. Preferably, the weighted members are sold as any the following: a 0.25 lb weight, a 0.5 lb weight, a 0.75 lb weight, a 1.0 lb weight, a 1.25 weight, and a 1.5 lb weight. In order to provide the desired amount of weight, the thickness of the weighted portion 122 a may be altered. For example as shown in FIG. 7, one embodiment of a weighted member 110 a may include a weighted portion 122 a a having a thickness T1, and, as shown in FIG. 8, another embodiment of a weighted member 110 a may include a weighted portion 122 a having a thickness T2, which is double the value of T1.

In some embodiments, the covering strips 134 a and 134 b may be color coded to correspond to the weight value of the weighted portion 122 a. For example, weighted portions 122 a that have a weight of 1 lb may be covered with covering strips 134 a, 134 b that are blue, and weighted portions 122 a that have a weight of 1.5 lb may be covered with covering strips 134 a, 134 b that are red.

Referring back to FIG. 1, wherein the piece of footwear 102 is an ice-skate, the arrangement of lace holes 104 a and 104 b on the ice-skate is curved upwards on ice-skate at the ankle portion of the ice-skate. As shown most clearly in FIG. 4, the first weighted member 110 a is curved, in order to match the curved arrangement of the lace-holes 104 a. Further, the row of holes 120 a through the first weighted member 110 a is curved (i.e. axis 121 a is curved). Accordingly, when the second face 118 a of the first weighted member 110 a is applied to the outer side 106 a of the ice-skate, the holes 120 a on the first weighted member 110 a will align with the lace holes 104 a.

Additional embodiments in which the weighted member 110 a is curved may include embodiments wherein the weighted member 110 a is manufactured for use with boots such as combat boots or snow boots, ski-boots, and snowboard boots.

In an alternate embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, wherein like numerals are used to refer to like features, with the first digit of the numeral incremented to 9, the lace-holes 904 a, 904 b on the footwear 902 may be arranged in a generally straight line. In such embodiments, the weighted members 910 a and 910 b may be generally straight, and the row of holes 920 a may be generally straight.

Although the embodiments of the weighted members 910 a and 910 b shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are shown attached to a shoe, in which the lace-holes 904 a, 904 b are arranged in a generally straight line, it will be appreciated that such embodiments may also be attached to a piece of footwear wherein the arrangement of lace holes is curved, such as an ice-skate. Particularly, although ice-skates are sold with various arrangements of lace-holes, the arrangement of first 5 or 6 lace-holes towards the toe end of the ice-skate is typically similar across most ice-skate designs, and includes a straight line of lace holes. Accordingly, weighted members 910 a, 910 b may be sold for use with ice-skates, may have lace-holes 920 a, 920 b arranged in a generally straight line, and may have a length L1 sized to span the first 5 or 6 lace-holes of the ice-skate.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the lace holes 104 a and 104 b further curve inwardly on the ice-skate at the ankle portion of the ice-skate. That is, the ankle portion of the ice-skate is narrower than the foot portion. Further, it will be appreciated that when the ice-skate is worn, the degree to which the lace holes 104 a and 104 b curve inwardly will vary, depending for example upon the diameter of the wearer's ankle, and upon how tight the skate is laced. As shown most clearly in FIG. 3, the first weighted member 110 a is flexible, in so that it may conform to the contour of the side 106 a of the ice-skate. More particularly, if the first end 112 a of the weighted member 110 a is held fixed, the second end 114 a may move side to side, in a direction indicated by arrow A1 in FIG. 3.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the lace holes 904 a and 904 b do not curve inwardly on the footwear. However, the lace holes 904 a and 904 b may not lie in a flat plane on the footwear. For example, in use, depending on the contour of the shoe, the shape of the users foot, and the tightness of the shoelaces, the lace holes 904 a and 904 b may not be co-planar. Accordingly, in such embodiments, by providing a flexible weighted member 110 a, the weighted member may conform to the contour of the side of the shoe.

In use, in order to secure the weight 100 to the piece of footwear, the first weighted member 110 a may be applied to the outer side 106 a of the piece of footwear 102, the second weighted member 110 b may be applied to the inner side 106 b of the piece of footwear, and then the first weighted member 110 a and the second weighted member 110 b may be secured to the outer side 106 a and inner side 106 b, respectively, of the piece of footwear. More particularly, referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, the shoelace 108 may first be removed from the piece of footwear 102. The first weighted member 110 a may then be positioned on the outer side 106 a of the piece of footwear 102 such that the holes 120 a align with the lace holes 104 a, and the second weighted member 110 b may be positioned on the inner side 106 b of the piece of footwear 102 such that the holes 120 b align with the lace holes 104 b. The piece of footwear may then be laced up, to secure the first 110 a and second 110 b weighted members to the piece of footwear 102. More particularly, the shoelace 108 may then be threaded through the first plurality of lace-holes 104 a, the first plurality of holes 120 a, the second plurality of lace-holes 104 b, and the second plurality of holes 120 b. The shoelace 108 may then be tied to removably secure the weighted members 110 a, 110 b to the piece of footwear.

In order to remove the weight 100 from the piece of footwear 102, the shoelace 108 may be untied and removed from the piece of footwear 102.

It will be appreciated that steps of positioning the first 110 a and second 110 b weighted members on the piece of footwear 102 and securing the first 110 a and second 110 b weighted members on the piece of footwear 102 may be carried out concurrently

In some embodiments (not shown), additional weighted members 110 may be applied to the piece of footwear 102, to increase the weight on the piece of footwear 102. More particularly, a plurality of weighted members may be stacked on the outer side 106 a of the piece of footwear 102, and a plurality of weighted members may be stacked on the inner side 106 b of the piece of footwear 102. For example, prior to lacing up the piece of footwear 102, a third weighted member may be applied to the outer side 106 a piece of footwear 102, on top of the first weighted member 110 a, and a fourth weighted member may be applied to the inner side 106 b of the piece of footwear 102, on top of the second weighted member 110 b. The piece of footwear 108 may then be laced up, to secure all four weighted members to the piece of footwear.

It will be appreciated that the weight 100 may be sold in separate parts. That is, weighted members 110 a, 110 b may be sold separately. Alternately, the weighted members 110 a, 110 b may be sold together.

It will be appreciated that, although in the embodiments shown, the first 110 a and second 110 b weighted members are manufactured as separate pieces, in some embodiments, they may be joined. 

1. A weight for attachment to a piece footwear, the weight comprising: a) a first weighted member having a plurality of holes defined therethrough, the plurality of holes arranged along a length of the weighted member.
 2. The weight of claim 1, wherein the weighted member is a strip.
 3. The weight of claim 2, wherein the strip comprises a cover and a weighted portion.
 4. The weight of claim 3, wherein the weighted portion comprises lead.
 5. The weight of claim 3, wherein the cover comprises a first covering strip adjacent to a first face of the weighted portion, and a second covering strip adjacent to a second face of the weighted portion.
 6. The weight of claim 1, wherein the weighted member is flexible.
 7. The weight of claim 1, wherein the weighted member is curved.
 8. The weight of claim 7, wherein the plurality of holes are arranged in a row.
 9. The weight of claim 8, wherein the row is curved.
 10. The weight of claim 1, wherein the plurality of holes comprises at least three holes.
 11. The weight of claim 1, further comprising an eyelet secured to each hole.
 12. The weight of claim 1, wherein the weight further comprises a second weighted member that is substantially identical to the first weighted member.
 13. The weight of claim 12, wherein the piece of the footwear has an inner side and an outer side, wherein the first weighted member is removably securable to the outer side, and the second weighted member is removably securable to the inner side.
 14. The weight of claim 13, wherein the piece of footwear comprises a longitudinal axis running substantially from a toe end to a heel end of the piece of footwear and dividing the piece of footwear into the inner side and the outer side, and wherein the first and second strips are removably securable to the piece of footwear and are adapted to be positioned substantially equidistantly from the longitudinal axis of the piece of footwear.
 15. A weight for attachment to a piece of footwear, the piece of footwear having a first plurality of lace-holes on an outer side of the piece of footwear, a second plurality of lace-holes on an inner side of the piece of footwear, and at least one lace threadable through the lace holes, the weight comprising: a) a first weighted strip removably securable to the outer side of the piece of footwear, the first weighted strip having a first plurality of holes defined therethrough, the first plurality of holes arranged along a length of the first strip and at least some of the first plurality of holes arranged to align with the first plurality of lace-holes to thereby be removably securable to the piece of footwear by the lace; and: b) a second weighted strip removably securable to the inner side of the piece of footwear, the second weighted strip having a second plurality of holes defined therethrough, the second plurality of holes arranged along a length of the second strip, and at least some of the second plurality of holes arranged to align with the second plurality of lace-holes to thereby be removably securable to the piece of footwear by the laces
 16. The kit of parts of claim 15, wherein: a) each weighted strip has a first face and an opposed second face; b) the first face of the first strip is removably securable in facing relation to the outer side of the piece of footwear; and c) the first face of the second strip is removably securable in facing relation to the inner side of the piece of footwear.
 17. The kit of parts of claim 16, wherein a) the first weighted strip is flexible such that it is conformable to a contour of the outer side of the piece of footwear; and b) the second weighted strip is flexible such that it is conformable to a contour of the inner side of the piece of footwear.
 18. The kit of parts of claim 11, wherein each hole is alignable with one of the lace-holes.
 19. A method for applying a weight to a piece of footwear, the piece of footwear comprising a first plurality of lace-holes on an outer side of the piece of footwear, and a second plurality of lace-holes on an inner side of the piece of footwear, the method comprising: a) applying a first weighted member to the outer side of the piece of footwear; b) applying a second weighted member to the inner side of the piece of footwear; and c) securing the first weighted member to the outer side of the piece of footwear and securing the second weighted member to the inner side of the piece of footwear.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first weighted member comprises a first weighted strip having a first plurality of holes extending therethrough and arranged along a length of the first strip, and step (a) comprises: i) positioning the first weighted strip on the outer side of the piece of footwear such that the first plurality of holes is aligned with the first plurality of lace-holes.
 21. The method of claim 18, wherein the second weighted member comprises a second weighted strip having a second plurality of holes defined therethrough and arranged along a length of the second strip, and step (b) comprises: i) positioning the second weighted strip on the inner side of the piece of footwear such that the second plurality of holes is aligned with the second plurality of lace-holes.
 22. The method of claim 18, wherein step (c) comprises lacing a shoelace through the first plurality of lace-holes, the first plurality of holes, the second plurality of lace-holes, and the second plurality of holes.
 23. The method of claim 17, further comprising: d) applying a third weighted member to the outer side of the piece of footwear on top of the first weighted member; and e) applying a fourth weighted member to the inner side of the piece of footwear on top of the second weighted member. 